Moroccan Police in Tangier Arrest Five Suspects in Case Involving Bag Containing Ballots

Tangier – Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the case involving the detention of a person carrying a bag containing ballots, the King’s Prosecutor General at the Tangier Court of Appeal announced on Saturday.

“Following the statement issued by this Public Prosecutor’s Office on September 23 regarding the opening of a probe into the arrest of a person in possession of a bag containing ballots, the King’s Prosecutor General at the Tangier Court of Appeal announces that the preliminary investigations and inquiries ordered on this matter have led to the arrest of five suspects in connection with this case, who have been placed in police custody for the needs of the investigation,” the King’s Prosecutor General stated in a press release.

These individuals include the heads of two polling stations, their two deputies, and another person, the statement continued, noting that four of them were presented this Saturday before the Public Prosecutor’s Office, while the investigation continues with the fifth suspect, who remains in police custody and will be brought before the Public Prosecutor’s Office upon the conclusion of this measure.

Preliminary inquiries also revealed that the suspect arrested with the bag containing ballots served as the deputy head of a polling station and that, with the complicity of the head of said station, he removed a batch of ballots from inside the office, concealed them in a bag to take them out of the school building housing the polling station, before reintroducing them later into the two polling stations, in coordination with the other individuals involved.

Furthermore, the judicial investigations showed that the type of ink used on the seized ballots differed from the one used in the polling stations in question, the statement added.

On the basis of the results of the ordered judicial investigations, and in an effort to shed full light on the circumstances of this case and identify all individuals involved, regardless of their position or status, the Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to refer the matter to the investigating judge to open a formal judicial inquiry against the accused under provisional detention for their alleged involvement in committing the crime of tampering with electoral processes, forgery, and complicity.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office will ensure close monitoring of this file in order to submit the necessary requisitions, in line with its commitment to the strict application of the law, the statement concluded.